The Conference Coach™

Carolyn Bradfield

Most people remember Winston Churchill as one of the world’s greatest leaders, galvanizing Great Britain to stand up to the Nazi onslaught during World War II.  However, it was his love of the written word and his eloquence with language that people often remember.  His quotes have relevance in our times as much as they did 55 years ago.  “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”  “If you are going through hell, keep going.”  “Never, never, never give up.”  He lived his words and they inspired his country and the world.

I love quotes and tend to use them a lot to make a point.  They become part of my vocabulary, how I communicate with people and a reflection of who I am.  I steal them as often as I make them up, but anyone who knows me remembers these little sayings and the message I want people to remember when I use them.

One of my favorite sayings is that “anxiety comes from un-met expectations.”   Here is what that means to me.  First, people that are inconsistent are hard for me to relate to.   I don’t like surprises and when people behave in a way that is inconsistent with what I have come to expect, it raises my level of anxiety.    In both my business and personal life, I try not to surprise people, to be clear about what I expect, and to respond in a way that doesn’t surprise people.

Second, I would rather hear the truth than for someone to try and “sugar-coat” a situation just to make me happy or to satisfy me.  If things are bad; if you can’t meet your obligations; if there is going to be a gap in what you promised and what you can deliver, I really would you tell me that e vs. have to find out later.  That way, I can reset my expectations, deal with reality and create a plan to move forward based on what is, not what isn’t.  Make sense?

At Copper, not only do I live that philosophy every day, but I expect others that work here to do the same thing.  People know what their job is and how to benchmark whether they are doing a good or bad job.  They know what to expect and should be able to hold a mirror up to themselves that reflects reality.  I encourage our people, our partners, and our vendors to be up front about where we are in any given situation.  I reward that behavior and react poorly when I’m in the dark or things have been misrepresented.

I work hard to set expectations of who Copper is in the marketplace.  We focus and serve the small to medium sized business customer.  Sorry IBM, but we probably aren’t the best vendor for you.  We do audio and web conferencing and we aren’t the company you need when you want to connect expensive camera equipment in a video conferencing room for a satellite uplink.  Our online Connect To Copper™ system will set up or make any changes to a moderator within 15 minutes. You will get a post-conference summary email for your usage every day.  If we make a mistake, you’ll hear from us before we will hear from you.

We want our customers to never have anxiety about what to expect from Copper.  You’ll have great conference calls; we’ll answer your phone call and do what we say we’ll do; and keep giving you technology and service that makes your entire conferencing experience the best.  IBM, I’m sure you’ve got your conferencing situation figured out, but if you want to call me, I’m happy to set your expectations in the right direction.

To learn more about what’s new at Copper and how audio conferencing and web conferencing services can help you improve your business and cut costs, contact a Conference Coach today.